CONTEMPORARY GHANAIAN FICTION TO READ ON REPUBLIC DAY
Some people call me a feminist.
I embrace that term wholeheartedly.
Like Chimamanda, I am a 'happy feminist'.
And I have and love my male friends, thank you very much.
This post was inspired by The Library of Africa and The African Diaspora (LOATAD).
So in one of my earlier posts about African authors, I left out a very important group of writers.
The contemporary Ghanaian authors.
Today, I want to shed light on a few of them who have written young adult books I have loved and identified with.
All the writers on today's list are women if you haven't already guessed it yet.
1. Mamle Wolo
I love how hopeful her book, 'The Kaya- Girl' is.
The happy ending the head porter (kayayoo) and almost everyone in the book has is a tad unrealistic.
But if you're someone who doesn't know much about 'kayayei' in Ghana, this could be a deeply enlightening introduction.
It's a classic one-good-turn-deserves-another story.
If you're looking for a more raw, honest narrative of life on the streets for young women in Ghana read Amma Darko's not-so- contemporary-but-still-oh-so-true (they were written in the nineties) titles: 'Faceless', 'The Housemaid' and 'Beyond the Horizon.
2. Elizabeth Irene Baitie
- The Dorm Challenge
- The Twelfth Heart
A two-part series about life in a Ghanaian Senior High School. After going to boarding school myself, I have learned not to trust any single narrative of a particular experience. The stories are deeply personal, engaging and humorously told.
However, you should know that you might not have as much fun when you attend boarding school yourself.
Or, maybe, you might have even more fun.
The beauty of this is that it differs for everyone, just like almost every other life experience.
Another very interesting boarding school series for someone who wants to experience Ghana vicariously through a bunch of fictional storybook characters is the Freshers' Series by Samelia Bawuah.
Other books I'm yet to read:
- A Saint in Brown Sandals
- Rattling in The Closet
- A Lion's Whisper
3. Ruby Yayra Goka
- Perfectly Imperfect
It starts with I killed my father...
The book made me laugh and cry and rant.
Yayra Amenyo is miserable, and rightly so.
After the accident that killed her dad and left her incapable of performing several bodily functions, everything in her life starts to fall apart.
Sounds familiar?
This coming of age novel made me wonder if sometimes someone could know you better than even you knew yourself.
- The Mystery of The Haunted House
I won't spoil your fun but it's got mystery and inquisitive twins, a formidable mix.
- The Lost Royal Treasure
The twins are back again, and the stakes are even higher.
- When the Shackles Fall
More of the twins, anyone?
Other books that I haven't read but plan to do so asap:
- To Kiss A Girl
- Mama's Amazing Cover Cloth
- In the Middle of Nowhere
- The Step-Monster
- Plain Yellow
- Those Who Wait
- Disfigured
Look out for more authors and titles in the coming weeks and don't forget to comment and subscribe for more!